Dust After the Open Door- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

Dawn swung the meeting-room door with her elbow, balancing a folder of music parts that needed fresh copies before lunch. She hurried through the warm corridor toward the printer area; golden light from ceiling panels brushed the wood-grain floor. A stale sheet already sat half-printed, and the machine’s red icon blinked. The tray had been forced out of line by a hidden staple. Dawn tugged at the jammed paper; the sudden jerk rattled a tall pot beside the machine. A brittle bramble branch quivered, shaking loose a tiny cloud of gnats that had lingered among its leaves.

The insects drifted toward the glass entrance. An infrared sensor caught their movement, and the automatic door slid open to the stairwell. A brief indoor gale rushed through the gap, catching the newly freed sheet and the four others that followed. The pages whirled down the corridor, brushing past a quintet of empty paper cups on the break-room counter. Dawn dashed after them, knees bending, palms tapping the floor as she tried to gather each runaway score. Two pages fluttered beneath a rolling chair and gradually began to settle down. Another slipped under the closed meeting-room door; its corner stuck out like a pale flag.

She nudged a recycling bin against the entrance, blocking the sensor. The door stilled, and the breeze eased. Dawn returned to the printer, smoothed the crumpled stack, and finished the copies without further protest. Coffee aroma continued to linger while she checked the pages one last time.

Hours later, amber evening light slanted across the empty corridor. The bin stayed wedged beside the door, and three neat piles of scores waited on the printer shelf. A pale thread of dust slid into a corner under the doorframe.

唐恩用手肘推開會議室的門，懷裡夾著午餐前需要重新影印的樂譜資料夾。她經過溫暖走廊，天花板的黃光在木紋地面上鋪出一道道亮帶。印表機區已卡著一張半列印的紙，紅色圖示閃個不停。托盤被隱藏的訂書針擠歪，她用力一扯；猛然的動作震到旁邊高盆栽。乾脆的荊棘枝抖動，搖下原本停在葉間的一小群果蠅。

昆蟲飄向玻璃入口，紅外線感應器捕捉到移動，自動門滑向樓梯間。室內掠過一陣短促強風，捲走這張剛鬆開的紙與接續的另外四張。樂譜在走廊裡盤旋，擦過茶水間櫃上並排的五個空紙杯。唐恩小跑追趕，彎腰貼地拍拾那些逃跑的頁面。兩張滑到活動椅下，終於慢慢靜止；另一張鑽進關著的會議室門縫，紙角像淡色小旗探了出來。

她把回收箱推到門前，擋住感應器。門停住，風也跟著平息。唐恩回到印表機前，撫平皺紙，順利完成剩餘影印。咖啡香仍在空氣中迴盪，她最後檢查了一次樂譜。

數小時後，琥珀色的晚光斜照空蕩走廊。箱子還楔在門旁，印表機架上整齊疊放著三疊譜面。細長塵絲沿著門框底邊緩緩滑向角落。